After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold the doves he said, "Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will devour me."
So then the Jewish leaders responded, "What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?" Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again." Then the Jewish leaders said to him, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?" But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.
Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people. He did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.
(NET)
John's Gospel has a certain directness that appeals to many readers. Of course, readers who want something more "subtle" sometimes feel John is too simple.
But, on the other hand, amidst the "simplicity" of John's telling of the Jesus story, delving deeper and looking more closely shows it isn't so simply at all.
One theme in John is the question of belief/unbelief.
Often times the people who believed Jesus were the ones we least expected to belief! And, likewise, the ones who didn't believe were the ones we think should know better!
The other big theme in John is pointing to who Jesus really is and to the Cross.
In this passage, there is a whole lot of pointing going on!
Jesus called the Temple, "My Father's House."
If you or I were really upset about commerce occurring in the worship space of a church and had the guts (I don't think I have that kind of boldness) to overturn the tables and chase them out, we might say, "Get out of here, you are using God's/Lord's house as a market place." I suppose some might say, "The Heavenly Father's House." But "My Father's House?" Dunno. Don't think so.
But for Jesus, entirely proper.
The pointing toward the Cross however is a bit more subtle. Jesus said destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up again. If one heard that proclamation with no context of resurrection, it would sound like crazy talk. But John's post-resurrection editorial comment makes it clear to the listeners and readers of the Gospel: But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.
Another feature of the Gospel of John I hadn't fully appreciated was the "Jewishness" of it. Of course, much of the growth in the early church was in reaching the Gentiles. But the message of Jesus is rooted in God's work among the Jews. I do wonder what it was like for the Gentile believers who had no idea of any of the Jewish stories. I suppose as part of their church life, the teaching elders would have explained how God worked among the Jews and cited examples from the Hebrew Scriptures and the punch line would be: God is still working today and now includes everybody!
In John's writing of this Gospel, there are periodic mentions of Passover. Jesus is often at Jerusalem for the Passover in the various episodes in John. To this day, Jews celebrate Passover to remember how God delivered them out of the slavery of Egypt. And indeed, we now celebrate the ultimate Passover in that Jesus has delivered us from sin and death.
One controversy about this passage of driving out the money changers is about its location within the Gospel of John (very early) while in the other Gospels, it occurs very late.
Some speculate that Jesus drove out the money changers twice in his life time.
Another possibility is that the Gospel of John is not always chronological and that he juxtaposed this event with the water into wine event to suit his teaching aims. Perhaps, John wanted to pair the first sign (water into wine) with Jesus pointing to the final sign (death and resurrection).
We need to remember that the Bible writers should not be constrained by our 21st Century expectations of what a biography looks like. Today, we get 500+ page tomes with tons of footnotes and usually a chronological narrative. In the early church, the text was hand written on precious and hard to come by materials. Thus, the text tends to be terse compared to modern writing styles.
Also, these texts were read aloud for meetings as part of teaching components in worship. And so they are not mere reportage of the events of Jesus life but sermons. Thus, there are times when John steps in the text with explanation and amplification of the episode he recounted.
As we approach Christmas of 2012, let's remember the miracle of this story: God coming into the world to dwell among us. God could have used a megaphone and said, "God loves everyone." But no, he sent Jesus to dwell among us. And indeed, to suffer and die on a Cross. And rose again the third day! Death is no longer the last chapter for those who would trust in Jesus.
(NET)
John's Gospel has a certain directness that appeals to many readers. Of course, readers who want something more "subtle" sometimes feel John is too simple.
But, on the other hand, amidst the "simplicity" of John's telling of the Jesus story, delving deeper and looking more closely shows it isn't so simply at all.
One theme in John is the question of belief/unbelief.
Often times the people who believed Jesus were the ones we least expected to belief! And, likewise, the ones who didn't believe were the ones we think should know better!
The other big theme in John is pointing to who Jesus really is and to the Cross.
In this passage, there is a whole lot of pointing going on!
Jesus called the Temple, "My Father's House."
If you or I were really upset about commerce occurring in the worship space of a church and had the guts (I don't think I have that kind of boldness) to overturn the tables and chase them out, we might say, "Get out of here, you are using God's/Lord's house as a market place." I suppose some might say, "The Heavenly Father's House." But "My Father's House?" Dunno. Don't think so.
But for Jesus, entirely proper.
The pointing toward the Cross however is a bit more subtle. Jesus said destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up again. If one heard that proclamation with no context of resurrection, it would sound like crazy talk. But John's post-resurrection editorial comment makes it clear to the listeners and readers of the Gospel: But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.
Another feature of the Gospel of John I hadn't fully appreciated was the "Jewishness" of it. Of course, much of the growth in the early church was in reaching the Gentiles. But the message of Jesus is rooted in God's work among the Jews. I do wonder what it was like for the Gentile believers who had no idea of any of the Jewish stories. I suppose as part of their church life, the teaching elders would have explained how God worked among the Jews and cited examples from the Hebrew Scriptures and the punch line would be: God is still working today and now includes everybody!
In John's writing of this Gospel, there are periodic mentions of Passover. Jesus is often at Jerusalem for the Passover in the various episodes in John. To this day, Jews celebrate Passover to remember how God delivered them out of the slavery of Egypt. And indeed, we now celebrate the ultimate Passover in that Jesus has delivered us from sin and death.
One controversy about this passage of driving out the money changers is about its location within the Gospel of John (very early) while in the other Gospels, it occurs very late.
Some speculate that Jesus drove out the money changers twice in his life time.
Another possibility is that the Gospel of John is not always chronological and that he juxtaposed this event with the water into wine event to suit his teaching aims. Perhaps, John wanted to pair the first sign (water into wine) with Jesus pointing to the final sign (death and resurrection).
We need to remember that the Bible writers should not be constrained by our 21st Century expectations of what a biography looks like. Today, we get 500+ page tomes with tons of footnotes and usually a chronological narrative. In the early church, the text was hand written on precious and hard to come by materials. Thus, the text tends to be terse compared to modern writing styles.
Also, these texts were read aloud for meetings as part of teaching components in worship. And so they are not mere reportage of the events of Jesus life but sermons. Thus, there are times when John steps in the text with explanation and amplification of the episode he recounted.
As we approach Christmas of 2012, let's remember the miracle of this story: God coming into the world to dwell among us. God could have used a megaphone and said, "God loves everyone." But no, he sent Jesus to dwell among us. And indeed, to suffer and die on a Cross. And rose again the third day! Death is no longer the last chapter for those who would trust in Jesus.
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Amen!
